Synopsis

Malory Towers Collection by Enid Blyton

For new girl Darrell Rivers, there are friends to be made, pranks to be played and fun to be had at Malory Towers in Enid Blyton's best-loved boarding school series. Fun and Games Music concert or Tennis tournament? In book ten, feisty June and new girl Millicent can't agree what's more important. Soon all becomes irrelevant when things begin disappearing. Is there a thief in fifth form? Secrets What's with all the secrets? How did Daffy pull off her latest prank? What did Mam'zelle find in her handbag? And why is the new form-mate so strangely familiar? Goodbye The sixth form girls are to attend finishing school before they're sent out into the world. They are to learn deportment, etiquette and obedience. Oh dear! Between 1946 and 1951, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at Malory Towers. Books 7-12 are authorised sequels of the series written by Pamela Cox in 2009 and focus on the adventures of Felicity Rivers, Susan Blake, and June Johns. This collection features the original stories and is unillustrated.

About the Author

Enid Blyton is one of the most-loved authors in children’s publishing. With over 700 titles published, Enid Blyton’s stories remain timeless classics, adored by children throughout the world.

Soon after Enid Blyton was born in 1897, she fell gravely ill with whooping cough. Her father, Thomas Blyton stayed up with her night after night until her cough subsided and she recovered. From that time on, Enid followed her father wherever he went, and it was through her father that she developed a love of nature and animals – an enthusiasm which stayed with her throughout her life. It was also her father who instilled in Enid her love of books, and she would often be seen sneaking into her father’s library and borrowing a pile of books.

As a young woman Enid was faced with many choices; her father had planned a career in music for her, while she felt drawn to writing. In the end, she became a teacher, though her passion for writing never dwindled. In 1922, a collection of poems by Enid was published - it was her first step toward her dream of becoming an author.

At 27 years old, Enid married Hugh Pollock and moved to London. Enid had two children with Hugh, and soon after wrote her first novel, The Adventures of the Wishing Chair. Enid divorced Hugh after almost 20 years of marriage, and remarried Kenneth Waters in 1943.

Throughout the 40 and 50s, Enid wrote books at a colossal pace: adventure stories, mysteries, magical stories, farming stories, stories for younger children, best-selling series like The Famous Five and Noddy…her writing knew no bounds!

Apart from breaks to play golf and spend time with her children, Enid’s working week was consumed with writing new stories, correcting proofs and answering the hundreds of letters she was, by now, receiving weekly. She explained that her characters evolved organically and her stories seemed to naturally form, she described herself as “merely a sightseer, a reporter, and interpreter.”

Enid fell ill with Alzheimer’s disease in her old age (a disease that affects people’s memory) and she died in 1963. Her spirit lives on in her books and she is remembered as one of the most-loved and celebrated children’s authors.